Heel-blank breast-shaping machine



- May 5, 1925.

H. W. RUSS HEEL BLANK BREAST SHAPING MACHINE Fil'd May 15, 1924 1Sheets-Sheet 1 H. RUSS HEEL BLANK BREAST SHAPING MACHINE Fil'Ed May 151924 1 sheets-sheet 2 rllillli. ll|| III .1111 J ii...

May 5, 1925,

Fil fl May 15,, 1924 l Sheets-Sheet 5 May 5, 1925. 1,536,691

H. W. RUSS HEEL BLANK BREAST SHAPING MACHINE Fil ci May 15, 1924 I 4Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented May 5, 1925.

{UNIT D STATES PATIENT OFFICE.

HARiLEY W. RU SS, F HAVERHILL, MASSACHUSETTS ASSIGNOR 'I'O MERR-IMACK"WOOD HEEL 00., OF. NEW HAMPSHIRE, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHU- SETTS.

1 HEEL-BLANK BREAST-SHAPING MACHINE.

application filed May 15, To all echo midi concern; I

Be it known that I, HARLEY W. Russ, a citizen of the United States, aresident of Haverhill, in the county of Essex and State fi ofMassachusetts, have invented an -Improvement fin Heel-Blank-Breast-Shaping Machines, of which the following is a specification. 1

This inventionrelates to machines which are primarily designed to shapethe breast surface of wood heels and more particularly to those'of tlfeso called Cuban or military .7 u As-ordinarly shaped, a CubarW-heel hasa breast surface which is concave transversely and straightlongitudinally, or from top to base, and hasits sides tapering frombasecto top and concaved longitudinally. It has been customary to shapethe breast surf, face of such heels, when made of leather, afterattachment, with an arc-shaped reciprocating knife,and, when made ofwood, to breast shape them, before attachment, with arotary cutterhaving arc-shaped cutting edges, the'Jh'eel, in the latter instancebeing moved'in a straight path pastthe cutter. When the breast and sidesof a heel are formed as above described, the deeper inter 3 mediateportion of the sides intersect differ '30 ent longitudinal elements ofthe breast surface than do the side portions nearer the top and bottom,and, as a result, the sides terminate in lines which are concave whenviewed from either side. It' is considered that when the sides of theheel terminate at the breast in a'concave or inwardly curved line, asvviewed from either side, the heel is objectionable in appearance and thetrade demands that this line should be straight in 40 side view-Consequently it has been the practice, in the manufacture of shoes,having leather heels of the Cuban type, to straighten the side breastedge with a hand knife by shaving down theedge at top and base. While jthe result thus secured is imperfect and may beimperfectly secured on awood heel in a similar way, as by a scouring operation, the increasedlabor cost is-an important objection. w 1 The primary object of myinventionis to provide a" machine which will so shape the breastsurface'without increasing the expense of the breastshapingoperatiomthat 1924. Serial 110,713,465;

when the heel is turned, or its side surfaces are forined, in a sideview of the heel, its sides will appear to terminate at the breast in astraight line. Other objects of my invention-are to improve priormachines for performing the breast shaping operation on wood heels, sothat the work may be more easily rapidly performed, and to produce amachine which is adapted to be readily adjusted to form heels of variousshapes.

I accomplish these objects by providing a machine having means formoving the heel blank with relation to the rotary cutter in a path whichwill cause the formation of a breast surface which is sufficientlyconvex longitudinally to neutralize the effect of the concavity of theside surface to such an, ex-

Ttentthat the sideswill appear to terminate ina straight edge whenviewed from either side. More specifically stated, I accomplishthisobjec't by moving the heel blank longitudinally in a curvedpath-with relation to the breast shaping cutter, so that the angle atwhich the blank is presented-to the cutter is constantly changed as itis moved past the cutter and a breast surface is produced which issufliciently convex longitudinally to enable the desired result to besecured. As a practical matter, I haveascertained that sufficientlyaccurate results to satisfy the eye are secured if the heel blank isswung longitudinally of its height about a fixed axis which is disposedtransversely thereto,

and in this connection I provide means whereby the radius of the path,of move-. ment may be varied in length and the position in which theblank is held with relation to said path, may be varied in inclinationaccording to the particular style heel to be formed.

For a detailed description of a preferred embodiment of my invention,reference is made to the accompanying drawing, .in connection with thefollowing specification, in Which:-

Fig. 1 is a plan view, and Fig. 2 is a side elevation of a machineembodying my invention.

3 is an elevation of the front end of the work holder. s

Fig; 4 is a detail view of the base clamp member and its adjusting.means.

Fig. 5 isa detail view of the top clamp member.

blades.

Fig. -8 is a detail view of the jack post.

Fig. 9 is a side view of a heel blank at the end of the brastingoperation.

Figs. 10 and 11- are side and front views of the finished blank.

Fig. 12 is a plan view illustrating a modified embodiment of theinvention and Figs. 13 and 14 are end and side views of the cutteremployed in connection therewith. According to my invention the mainframe of the machine comprises an upright base 1 having a horizontalfiat surfaced table 2 on the upper end thereof. A cutter. shaft 3 ismounted to rotate about a vertical axis in a bearing 4 which is mountedon a vertically ad'ustable slide 5, the particular means for a justingwhich may comprise a screw 6 and hand wheel 7 A cutter 8, having blades9 mounted therein, is secured on the upper end of the shaft 3, thecutting edges of said blades being made in various shapes, oneof whichis indicated in Fig. 7 A hood 10 is preferably provided on the bed overthe cutter for carrying away chips and dust. I The heel blank carriercomprises a carrier plate 11, having a flat under side which is adaptedto rest directly on the upper surface of the table 2 and to swingthereon about a pivot pin 12 which is adapted to be placed in any one ofa series of apertures 13 in thetable 2 and in a corresponding series ofapertures 14 in the carrier plate 11. The apertures 13 in the table areall so arranged that their centers lie in the same straight line, whichlineintersects the axis of the cutter shaft 3, and the apertures 14 areall arranged with their centers in a straight line and are spacedidentically to the aperture 13, so that, when their lines of centerscoincide, the apertures 13, 14 coincide respectively. The pivot pin 12may be placed in any two corresponding apertures, so that the carrierplate 11 may, without variation of its position with relation to thecutter, be swung about centers varying in distance from the cutter, andits front end may thus be made to describe arcs of different curvature,all of which are tangent to an are, central at the axis of the cuttershaft, at the point at which the line of centers of the apertures 13intersect said arc. A jack or heel blank holding clamp is mountedhorizontally on said carrier plate 11 and comprises a base member 15,

having a vertically disposed heel blank en-- gaging face 16, saidmember'being pivotally connected to the plate 11 by a. pivot bolt 17in-as closeproximity to the end of. the face. :16 next the cutteras-practicable. This arrangement permits adjustment of' the base memberto various angles, according to the desired angular relation of thebreast surface. to the heel base on the blank to be operated on. Forconvenience in adjusting the machine for any particular shape of heel, ascale of degrees 18 is formed on the carrier plate 11, which cooperateswith an indicating mark 19 on the base member, to indicate the number ofdegrees wlnch the breast surface is to be inclined forwardly from aperpendicular to the base surface of the blank. Suitable means areprovided for clamping the base member 15 .in any position to which itmay be adjusted, the means shown consisting of arc-shaped slots 20'and21 in the member and bolts22 and23 which pass therethrough and arethreaded in the plate 11, whereby the member 15 may be securely clampedto the plate. A pair of handles 24, 25 aremounted in the base member 15and a single handle 26 in the plate 11 by means of which the operatormay swing the same in operating the machine.

The top clamp member is similar in its main features to the constructionshown in Pool Patent #1,238,814, the entire member being mounted on apost 27 which is slidably mounted on the base member 15. As shown inFig. 8, the post is bifurcated at each end, the portions 27'? and 27thereof being respectively arranged above and beneath the base member 15and slidable in guide ways formed therein. A screw 28 is providedforadjusting the post 27 in its guide ways and set screws 29 are providedin the portion 27 for locking the post in adjusted position. The member30, for engaging the top end of the blank, is adapted to be operated bythe hand lever 31 to clamp and unclanip the heel blank in a lnannersimilar to that disclosed in said prior patent to Pool, the particularmechanism which I preferably employ being shown in detail in Fig. 5, andany substantial changes from the construction disclosed in said Poolpatent ponstituting no part of the present invenlon.

A back gage 32 is provided on the member 15 which is arranged to beadjusted by a IPO thumb screw 33 swiveled in the member 15, I

and a removable rest plate 34 is mounted on the carrier 11 to serve asa. side gage and to support the blank in position until it is clamped.Several plates similar to plate 31, but varying in thickness, areprovided, so that blanks of varying width may be prop- ,erly positionedin middle position onv the be placed in position on the face 16 and,

carried into the path of the cutter blades as the carrier 11 is swungfrom the position of Fig. 1, in which position the blank carrier is heldwhen the blank is placed in position and clamped about the pivot pin 12,which will be located in corresponding holes 13, 14. In performing thegrooving operation, the operator usually places his hands on two of thehandles 24, 25 or 26, according to the position of the pivot on which.the carrier swings, and pushes'the carrier so that its end swings pastthe cutter, carrying the blank into engagen'ient with the cutter andpast the same, so that the blank will be grooved from base to top. Itwill be noted that the heel blankduring this operation,

is moved longitudinally or endwise in a circular, horizontal path, pasta cutter which is rotating about a fixed vertical axis, said cutterhaving the'cutting edges of its blades convcxly curved, so that atransversely concave groove will beformed in the blank, the curvature ofwhich may be either circular orsomewhat elliptical, and also that thesurface which is formed will be convex longitudinally, the extent of theconvexity depending on the length of radius of the path in which theblank is carried, the less the radius, the greater the convexity, thisbeing determined by the position of the pivot pin 12. As thelongitudinal convexity of the breast surface corresponds to the arc of acircle, the highest points of said surface, considered with relation tothe correspond ing points'at each end, will be midway of said surface.hen the heel is turned and longitudinally concave sides are formedthereon, the points of greatest depth, considered with relation to thetop and bottom of the blank, will also, in most instances, be at themiddle of the heel, so that it may be considered that, as a generalrule, the surface elements through the highest points of con- .vexity onthe breast are intersected by the surface elements through the points ofgreatest concavity on the sides and that the elements through thecorresponding intermedi ate points of convexity and concavity alsointersect, with the result that if the extent of the convexity is inproper proportion to the extent of the concavity, the line ofintersection will be straight, as viewed from the side. For example, ifthe curvature at each side corresponds to the arc of a circle and theconvex formation on the breast is formed on arcs of the same radius thelines of intersection at each side will be straight when viewed fromeither side or will lie in the same plane surface.

When a heel block is grooved on the above described machine, and theblock has not been sawed so that its sides taper, but are parallel, theedges formed where the cutter emerges at each side will be concentricwith the curvature at the middle of the groove, as shown in Fig. 9, butif the sides of the block have been sawed tapering, the edge curve willconverge to an extent with the bottom curvature, but whether the surpluswood is removed by saws or the cutter does noteffect the final result,secured by the turning operation, which is shown in Fig. 10.

WVhile movement of the heel blank holder in the arc of a circle, as itcarries the blank past the cutter will give sufliciently accurateresults in nearly, all instances, it is entirely within the spirit of myinvention to vary this path of movement if conditions should require it,as might readily be done by a suitable cam action. An example of aninstance where such variation might be desirable would occur where theconcavity of the side was deepest at a point midway between the middleand the top, but in practice a comparatively slight variation of thedeepest point in the side from the middle does not noticeably affect theresult, and a variation of the position of the pivot pin 12, in thecorresponding series of holes 13 .and 14, according to the radius ofcurvature of the side which is later to be formed when the blank isturned, is ordinarily sufficient to secure satisfactory-results.

In adjusting the machine, the two main factors requiredare the angularrelation of the breast surface to the base and the radius, orapproximate radius of curvature of the side to be formed, correspondingad justment of the base member 15 on the pivot 17 being made accordingto said angular relation of base and breast and adjustment of the pivotpin 12 being made according to the side curvature.

It is to be noted, in this connection, that, under all conditions, theangle between the base surface and the breast surface to be formed isobtuse, and that the base engaging face of the lamp is, in all positionsof adjustment, disposed in oblique relation to the radius about whichthe heel holder swings, the extent of this obliquity being varied byadjustment about the pivot 17.

Other adjustments according to the. length and width of base and-heightof the blank will be made in a manner which will be obvious.

In Figs. 12, 13 and 14 I have illustrated an embodiment'of my inventionin connection with a difierent form of cutter, said form being generallyknown as a barrel saw, which comprises a hollow cylinder having sawteeth 41 on its end and internal material removing blades 42 within saidteeth. In this connection the parts will be so arranged that the planeof the ends of the saw teeth is identical with the vertical plane of theline of centers of the apertures 13 in the table. With this form ofcutter the transverse curvature of the breast groove will conform to thearc of a circle of the same diameter as that of the cylindrical saw. Theoperation with this type of cutter is practically identical to thatpreviously described with relation to the other type of cutter, and itis thought to be unnecessary to describe it.

I claim 1. A. machine for shaping the breast side of a heel blankcomprising arotary cutter having its cutting edges movable in a circularpath and adapted to form a transversely concave groove, a heel blankholder movable in a curved path and having means ,to hold the blank withits base end at a predetermined angle to said path and in position to becarried longitudinally past the cutter with its base end at an obliqueangle to the path in which it is moved, to form a groove in one side ofthe blank from end to end having a predetermined longitudinal convexityand an obtuse angularity to its base end. i

2. A machine for shaping the breast side of a heel blank comprising arotary cutter having its cutting edges movable in a circular path andadapted to form 'a trans versely concave groove, a heel-blank holdermovable in a circular path oppositely d1sposed to the cutter path andhaving its blank holding means arranged to carry a heel blank held thereby past said cutter in position to groove the same from end to end whileits base end is held in oblique relation to a radius of said path.

3. A machine for shaping the breast side of a heel blank comprising arotary cutter having its cutting edges movable in a circular path andadapted to form a transversely concave groove, a heel blank holderarranged to hold the blank with its base end in predetermined angularrelation to said path and having means to vary the angular positionthereof with relation thereto, means to move said holder in a curvedpath to carry the blank past the cutter in position to groove its breastside from end to end there of and to constantly vary the angularrelation of its base end with relation to the path of said cutting edgesas it is moved, to cause the bottom of the groove to have apredetermined convexity.

4. A machine for shaping the breast side of a heel blank comprising arotary cutter having its cutting edges movable in a cir-' cular path andadapted to form a trans versely concave groove, a heel blank holderhaving a fixed support and a pivotal connection therewith outside saidpath arranged to cause the holder to carry the blank past the cutterandgroove the breast side thereof from end to end, thereby to give thebottom of the groove a longitudinal convexity, means whereby the radiusof the thereon to swing in a curved path, a blank I holder mounted onsaid carrier in position, to carry the blank longitudinally inengagement with the cutter, as the carrier is swung on said support andto present the blank to the cutter at constantly varying angles as it ismoved past the same and means to vary the inclination of said holder onthe carrier to vary the initial angle of presentation of the blank tothe cutter.

6. A heel-blank, breast-shaping machine comprising a rotary cutterhaving its cutting edges movable in a circular path and adapted to forma transversely concave breast surface on the blank when the blank ismoved longitudinally in engagement therewith, a support, a carriermounted thereon to swing in a curved path, a blankholder mounted on saidcarrier in position to carry the blank longitudinally in engagement withthe cutter, as the carrier is swung on said support and to present theblank to the cutter at constantly varying angles as it is moved past thesame and means to vary the inclination of said holder on the carrier tovary the initial angle of presentation of the blank to the cutter, saidmeans including a pivotal connection. between the holder and carrier.adjacent the outer periphery of the path of the holder.

7. A heel-blank, breast-shaping machine comprising a support, a carrierpivotally mounted thereon to swing horizontally, a blank-holderpivotally connected to said carrier in position to carry the blanklongitudinally as the carrier is swung on its pivot, and to permithorizontal swinging adjustment of the holder on the carrier to vary theinclination of the blank to its path of movement, means to vary theposition of the. pivotal connection between said carrier and support tovary the length of the radius of the path in which said holder is moved,and

a rotary cutter arranged to operate on a blank in said holder as saidcarrier is swung on its pivot, to form a transversely concave,longitudinally convex breast surface on the blank.

- 8. A heel-blank, breast-shaping machine comprising a support, acarrier pivotally mounted thereon to. swing horizontally, a blank-holderon said carrier having clamping members for respectively engaging thetop and base of a heel-blank arranged with their faces in verticallydisposed positions, a Vertically disposed pivot connecting said holderand carrier having its axial line in proximity to the breast end of theface. of said base engaging member, means permitting adjustment of saidholder about itspivot to vary the angular position of said faces withrelation to the path in which they are moved, and a rotary cutterarranged to operate on a blank in said holder as said carrier is swungon its pivot.

9. A heel-blank, breast-shaping machine comprising a cutter mounted torotate about a vertical axis and having horizontally projecting groovingblades, a table having a horizontally disposed supporting face, acarrier mounted toswing horizontally on said face, and having means forpivotall connecting the same to said table at different distances fromsaid cutter axis when the carrier is held in a predetermined positionwith relation to said axis, a heel-blank holding clamp mounted on saidcarrier with its clamping faces 1n vertically disposed positions and inposition to present a blank held thereby to the cutter as the carrier isswung on its pivot in any one of its pivotal positions and means foradjusting said clamp on saidcarrier to vary the angular position of itssaid vfaces.

In testimony whereof, name to this specification.

HARLEY W. RUSS.

I have signed my

